Screening for Food Insecurity

What is the best way to screen for food insecurity? The 18-item U.S. Food Security Scale (USFSS) is the gold standard, according to a recent editorial in the American Journal of Public Health. The tool was developed after five years of extensive testing, consultation, and expert review.  Its length, however, makes its use in most clinical settings impractical.

The first two questions in the USFSS, commonly known as the Hunger Vital Sign, ask how often within the past 12 months “we worried whether our food would run out before we got money to buy more,” and “the food we bought just didn’t last and we didn’t have money to get more.” Recent research has shown the Hunger Vital Sign to be both a sensitive and specific tool, and thus reliable is ascertaining whether a patient is food insecure, but only if the screener asks both questions and gives the patient 3 response options: “often true, sometimes true, or never true.”

Source: Children’s Health Watch, 11/2/17, Food Insecurity Screening

Food Insecurity Tied To Chronic Disease

USDA researchers recently used health, demographic, and food security information to look closely at the relationship between 10 chronic diseases in low-income working-age adults and the food security status of their households. They made two striking findings. First, they found differences in adult health across four levels of food security ranging from high to very low food security.

This finding is important because it suggests that food security status tracks closely with health. For example, the predicted probability of hypertension for low-income working-age adults living in a household experiencing very low food security was 10.5 percentage points higher than for those in high food-secure households, while in low-income households with marginal and low food-security, the predicted probability of hypertension was 3.5 and 5.4 percentage points, respectively, higher than in high food-secure households.  Second, researchers found similar differences for all of the health conditions they examined—hypertension, coronary heart disease, hepatitis, stroke, cancer, asthma, diabetes, arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and kidney disease. In all cases, the likelihood of having the particular health condition increased as household food security worsened.

Source: USDA, 10/2/17, Food Insecurity & Chronic Disease

SNAP May Be Best Path To Seniors' Health

A recent study demonstrated that access to SNAP results in fewer hospital and nursing home admissions. Researchers studied the entire population of 69,000 Maryland seniors who are on both Medicaid and Medicare (known as “dual eligibles”).

The results were remarkable. Access to SNAP reduced a senior’s likelihood of admission into a hospital by 14% and reduced the likelihood of entrance into a nursing home by 23%. The study also found that the more SNAP dollars seniors received for healthy food, the lower the odds they would have to spend additional days in a hospital and nursing home. And, because connecting seniors to SNAP results in lower healthcare utilization and better health, it also leads to health care savings. The researchers estimated that connecting dual eligibles to SNAP delivers $2,100 in annual health care savings per senior enrolled.

Source: Philly.com, 9/26/17, SNAP Benefits Seniors

SNAP Benefit May Lower Health Care Spending

Enrollment in SNAP may be associated with lower health spending, a new study suggests. Researchers examined data on health spending for U.S. adults who were eligible for SNAP, including 1,889 people who were SNAP participants and 2,558 who were not. Overall, the study found, SNAP participation was associated with about $1,400 less in average annual health care costs for each low-income adult.

There wasn’t much difference in annual health spending based on SNAP participation when researchers only accounted for two factors that can influence medical costs – age and gender. The difference was much more pronounced, however, when researchers also considered race, region, insurance, education, income, disability and other medical problems. When all of those factors were taken into account, SNAP enrollees had average annual health spending that was $1,409 less than people who didn’t participate in the program.

Source: Huffington Post, 9/26/17, Health Care Spending

DC’s Largest Food Bank Cuts Junk Food By 84%

A year ago, Washington D.C.’s Capital Area Food Bank decided to turn away junk food. From soda to chips, the CAFB has reduced the junk food it supplies to its 444 nonprofit partners, including soup kitchens and food pantries, by 84%.  Nearly half of the people receiving CAFB meals have high blood pressure, nearly a quarter have diabetes, or they live with someone who suffers from those illnesses. 

These customers’ doctors were telling them to reduce the salt and sugar in their diet and increase fiber. CAFB has not only cut back on sugary snacks and drinks, but it’s also boosted the amount of protein if offers, including 544,000 more pounds of beans and other vegetarian protein than in fiscal year 2015 — an increase of 57%. To improve its inventory, CAFB had to circle back with the 12 grocery store retailers that donate the bulk of the bank’s food to change from the high-sugar, low-nutrition items they historically provided. To date, the CAFB has managed to make improvements and retain relationships with all of its major food donors.

Source: Fern’s AG Insider, 9/18/17, Cutting Junk Food

FoodXChange Draws 165 Hartford Residents

One hundred and sixty-five people attended the first ever FoodXChange program at the Hartford Public Library, SAND/Ropkins Branch on July 26, 2017. The event was a partnership of Foodshare’s Promise Zone Hunger Action Team, Hartford Public Library, Farrell Treatment Center, and the House of Bread. This pilot program invited community members to exchange their packaged, processed foods for fresh fruits generously donated by the House of Bread. Altogether, the event exchanged 301 servings of processed, prepackaged food for 653 servings of fresh produce! Most of the participants were parents and children.

In addition to providing participants with healthy food, the FoodXChange featured a number of activities like:

• Live music performed by two students and a teacher from the Charter Oak Cultural Center.
• A sugar demonstration and healthy recipe booklets provided by the UConn SNAP-Ed nutrition program.
• A kid's area with interactive games.

Thank you to all of the community partners and residents who helped make this event a success! 

Healthy FoodXChange

Foodshare's Promise Zone Hunger Action Team (HAT) will be hosting a food exchange program at Hartford Public Library! See flyer below for more details.

How Food Insecurity Impacts Seniors

Because of limited financial resources, food-insecure adults often need to stretch constrained budgets. The strategies they use--forgoing medical care; purchasing low-cost, nutrient-poor foods; and making trade-offs between food and other basic necessities, such as medication--can harm their health. Older adults experiencing food insecurity have lower overall dietary quality than their food-secure counterparts. They consume fewer calories, less protein, and fewer essential vitamins and minerals when compared to their food-secure peers.

Research shows that older adults who are food insecure are more likely to experience diabetes, congestive heart failure, hypertension, gum disease, and limitations on activities of daily living, among other negative health outcomes. Additionally, compared to their food-secure counterparts, older adults struggling against food insecurity are at higher risk of depression.

Often, food-insecure older adults have more doctor’s office visits and emergency room visits, and more frequent hospitalizations.


Source: Food Research & Action Council, 5/19/17, Senior Food Insecurity

Food Insecurity and Women's Health

"Data consistently show that women are especially vulnerable to food insecurity and its health consequences. Literature reviews reveal strong and consistent evidence of a higher risk of obesity among food-insecure women, but not for food-insecure men or children.

 Another serious risk facing many women is maternal depression, which can increase the incidence — or be a consequence — of food insecurity. Food insecurity during pregnancy has been linked with gestational diabetes, iron deficiency, and low birth weight.  But, according to recent studies, mothers of young children in food-insecure households who received SNAP were less likely to experience symptoms of maternal depression and less likely to be in poor health, compared to mothers in food-insecure households not receiving SNAP"

Source: Food Research & Action Council, 5/19/17, Food Insecurity & Women's Health

UConn is Helping our Hungry Neighbors

Foodshare would like to acknowledge UConn Help the Hungry, an initiative to end food waste within the UConn family. The five students set 3 goals: educating students, helping UConn give back, and putting healthy food on the table for our food-insecure neighbors. 

For more information, watch the UConn Help the Hungry campaign video above. #GYSD

Food Insecurity And Health

Consistent evidence demonstrates a higher risk of obesity among food-insecure women. There are a number of reasons why food-insecure people are vulnerable to obesity and poor nutrition, including:

1. limited resources to obtain adequate or healthy food; 
2. lack of access to healthy, affordable foods; 
3. cycles of food deprivation and overeating; and 
4. high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

In addition, food insecurity is also linked to many diet-related diseases, like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Some evidence shows that food insecure adults with diabetes are more likely to have poor glucose control, which could be because they don’t have enough money to use their medication as directed, so they skip doses, take less medicine, or delay filling or refilling of prescriptions. For the same reason they may postpone preventive or needed medical care or forgo the foods they need for diabetic diets.

Source: Food Research & Action Council, 4/6/17, Food Insecurity & Health

What Food Banks Need To Know About HIPAA

Health care providers and payers (e.g., insurers) are increasingly seeking to work with food banks to ensure that food insecure patients receive nutrition assistance. These collaborations often require communication about the needs of patients and clients. But with more communication comes increased responsibility to think critically about how information that relates to patients and clients is shared and protected.

Federal law (HIPAA) requires health care providers to keep patient information private and secure. Potential health care partners will want to know that food banks have considered how they can keep the information that might be shared with them private and secure. A new resource provides food banks with an overview of how HIPAA influences information-sharing between health care providers and food banks and provides strategies for effective coordination and communication to keep health information safe.

Source: Harvard Law School, 3/17, Food Banks & HIPPA

A New Prescription (Rx) Boosting Health Nationwide

"...for the last six years, Wholesome Wave has worked quietly on an equally ambitious initiative: getting healthcare providers to write prescriptions for produce, rather than just pills. It’s called FVRx (Fruit and Vegetable Rx) and its ready to storm the nation—starting with downtown LA."

FVRx primarily serves families that are living at or below the poverty line along with children who are obese/overweight. The majority of families that participate in this program are also SNAP recipients. Through SNAP each member of the family receives an average of four dollars per day, and as recipients of FVRx families would receive an additional four dollars per day which must be spent exclusively on produce. 

Source: Modern Farmer, 1/3/17, The Power of Produce Prescriptions

Programs Help CT Families Build Better Eating Habits

Connecticut doctors and health care workers are helping low-income families make healthier food choices and coaching busy parents on fast, but healthy ways to feed their children. Understanding the reality of life for low-income families is key to helping their kids get to a healthy weight, said Melissa Santos, a pediatric psychologist and assistant professor at UConn’s School of Medicine. Helping these families eat healthier is a process, according to Santos, because their lives are already overwhelming.

At Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Patricia Esposito, clinical nutrition manager, shows working parents how to pull together easy meals for busy days. She steers them to items like pre-washed salad greens and pre-cooked chicken—and stresses that though these may be among the pricier items in the grocery store, they end up being cheaper than fast food. In New Britain, PhotoVoice, a community grassroots project, is teaching young teens about healthy lifestyles, including making good food choices and incorporating exercise daily. For one project, teens took streetscape photos in their neighborhoods full of fast food restaurants, convenience stores, and torn-up sidewalks.

Source: New Haven Register, 1/27/17, Healthier Eating

Higher SNAP Benefits Could Reduce ER Visits

A University of Missouri study has found that an increase in SNAP benefits can reduce emergency room visits for hypoglycemia. The researchers compared data from the Missouri SNAP and Medicaid programs to determine the benefit of SNAP and the timing of ER claims by analyzing the link between receipt of SNAP benefits and healthcare utilization. The results showed a strong link between the size of SNAP benefits and the number of ER visits for hypoglycemia, and that an increase of $100 in SNAP benefits decreased the likelihood of ER visits by 13%.

Source: UPI, 2/1/17, SNAP Lowers ER Use

Boosting SNAP Benefits Could Improve Eating Habits

In response to the recent controversy over whether SNAP funds should be used to buy sugary drinks, one commentator suggests that raising SNAP benefits would promote healthier eating. Low-income people, he argues, particularly people of color and those living in rural areas, lack access to healthy food options.

Research on food availability finds that low-income communities tended to have fewer supermarkets and fewer “healthy, high quality foods in nearby stores.”

Even when a lack of transportation options isn’t limiting their ability to locate better food sources, low-income people may struggle to afford healthier items. An analysis of the relationship between SNAP benefits and both food spending and food-related activities shows that a $30 boost to SNAP benefits could increase vegetable consumption by about 1.5%, increase the time spent on food shopping and preparation by 2.5 and 3.5%, respectively, and decrease fast food consumption by about 2.5%.

Source: Washington Post, 1/26/17, Boost SNAP, Eat Better

ER Advice Boosts Healthy Eating for SNAP Particpants

Low-income families were more likely to use their SNAP benefits on nutritious food after learning that their dollars can be doubled for more fruits and vegetables, according to another article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

 A University of Michigan-led team conducted five-minute conversations in the waiting room of a health clinic. They spoke about  a program called Double Up Food Bucks , the program matches food assistance dollars spent on fruits and vegetables. This brief interaction prompted the rise of fruit and vegetable consumption and led to an almost four-fold increase in program use among families.

 Double Up, run by national nonprofit Fair Food Network, is now available at more than 200 farmers markets, grocery stores, and other retail outlets across Michigan. Up to $20 in SNAP funds spent per market visit are matched with free Double Up Food Bucks that can be used to purchase fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. Fruit and vegetable consumption increased among study participants by almost two-thirds of a serving per day - with the greatest increases among those who used Double Up the most.

Health Incentive programs such as Double Up, exist in approximately forty states throughout the U.S.

 Source: News-Medical.net, 1/19/17, ER Advice Works

Americans Burdened with High-Deductable Health Plans

"High-deductible health plans have multiplied in recent years. But they may pose a significant financial burden on Americans with chronic conditions, two new studies suggest.

One study finds a greater likelihood that out-of-pocket spending for health care will consume 10 percent or more of family income for someone with a long-term condition such as arthritis, high blood pressure or a mood disorder and a high-deductible insurance plan."

Source: U.S News & Health Report, 1/10/17, Read More...

Obamacare Repeal Will Affect Employment & Retirement

With a potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act looming on the horizon, Americans will likely lose some very important health and financial benefits. According to research conducted by experts, here are some of the things we might see as a result of this change:

• The healthcare industry could lose an estimated 1 million jobs
• Newly insured patients will no longer receive funds from Medicaid
• Lower-income workers would see a cut in wages, while being asked to work more
• Larger companies will no longer be required to provide insurance for full-time employees

Source: NBC News, 01/10/2017  Read More >

Low-Income Babies Are Slimming Down

The percentage of overweight babies in poor families in the US may be declining, a new study suggests. Researchers found that fewer babies enrolled in the WIC program had a high "weight-for-length" in 2014, when compared with 2010. The percentage went from 14.5% to just over 12% in that period. High weight, even in infancy, has been linked to an increased risk of obesity later on, the study’s author said.

Changes to the WIC program are one likely reason the picture improved. During the study period, the program's food allocation package was revamped to fall in line with federal dietary guidelines, as well as infant feeding recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. These changes resulted in increased consumption of whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Source: Healthy Day, 12/13/16, Slimming Babies